sermon artwork: Transfiguration by Armando Alemdar Ara, oil on canvas
Caitlin Trussell with Augustana Lutheran Church on February 19, 2023 – The Transfiguration of Jesus
[sermon begins after two Bible readings]
Matthew 17:1-9 Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Exodus 24:12-18 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.”
15Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
[sermon begins]
The Christian church is a BIG tent. I’m talking about God’s church universal. The Apostle’s Creed calls it the church catholic with a little “c.” I misspoke. It’s not BIG. It’s ginormous. So many denominations – denomination kind of means flavor, like there are a million flavors of ice cream but they’re all ice cream. When we include every Christian denomination that you ever heard about, and then add the many Christians who argue that they follow Jesus without a church, Christianity numbers over 2 Billion people around the world.[1] A little over 30% of the world is Christian. That’s a staggering number. That number means that there are probably some Christians that you may struggle to understand. I’m not just talking about language and culture. I’m talking about the diversity of ways Christians preach about Jesus. Everyone so often, you’ll hear this pop up in the news or some other source when a famous Christian will announce that another famous Christian isn’t really a Christian because ____________ [fill in the blank]. Personally, I’m not interested in that game. The particulars dwell in Jesus’ hands alone. What I am interested in is that it is a very, very, very old game.
The Gospel of Matthew gives us some insider information into the first century Matthean church.[2] There were rumblings about rules within the new synagogue itself between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. There were rumblings with the other synagogues in town who didn’t believe that Jesus had a role in God’s world building efforts. And there were rumblings about the Roman Empire’s violence, taxes, and power. Those rumblings centered Jesus as both the problem and the solution depending on your vantage point. You can almost hear that famous boxing phrase, “Let’s get ready to rumble!!!”[3] In fact, Jesus had already announced the rumble a few verses before our reading today which was the first time he talked about his death and resurrection.[4] Although the rumble about his upcoming suffering didn’t go over very well with his disciples. And Jesus had no intention of rumbling back, well, at least not in the way that it usually means. The Bible story says that just six days after Jesus first broke the bad news of his suffering and the good news of his resurrection to his disciples, the transfiguration of Jesus into a sun shiny face and dazzling white clothes happened.
Peter’s response is one that makes sense from him as a Jewish Christian. He knew the Exodus story we heard today. The last time Moses was caught up in the glory of the Lord on a mountain he stayed there for 40 days and 40 nights. We tend to talk about Peter as if his need to build dwellings for everyone was out of left field, wanting the holy moment to last forever. It’s possible he was simply being practical. Peter knew the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible that are the same as the first five books of the Christian Bible. Peter saw in Moses’ presence and the glory of the Lord that the day hike seemed to be taking a turn into a 40-day endurance test so then maybe a tent would come in handy. More than that, a tent dwelling would be the hospitable thing to do. A body’s got to rest even if the glory of the Lord appears like devouring fire or dazzling light. In the end, the dwellings weren’t needed because the glory of the Lord was dwelling IN Jesus who was heading back down the mountain. Jesus was NOT sticking around for backcountry training. The Transfiguration is assurance that God dwells in Jesus no matter who’s getting ready to rumble against him.
The Transfiguration is also assurance given to both Jesus and for his disciples before the rumble begins. There’s a tendency to imagine Jesus as superhuman. But Matthew’s Gospel makes clear Jesus’ fragile human body and the emotions that go with it. The reassuring voice that was heard at his baptism is again heard on the mountaintop, “This is my son, the Beloved…”[5] One insight of the Transfiguration is that even Jesus could use an encouraging word. Another insight is that so could his disciples. The rumble in Jerusalem was going to take some courage. Shiney, dazzling Jesus and his friends, Moses and Elijah, were there to en-courage, to offer assurance, and strengthen this ragtag band of Jesus followers.
Here’s a cool part of the Transfiguration. It prefigures resurrection. This means that the story gives a glimmer of what resurrection means. And it’s not only a glimmer about what Jesus’ resurrection looks like. It’s a glimmer of what ours looks like too. There’s a timelessness to the gathering of Moses and Elijah and Jesus. Whatever we imagine happens after we die, we have a sense here that God collapses time to reveal something essential.
The closest that I can get to this in our human stories is when I’m at the bedside of some who is dying. Sometimes the person who is dying will talk with someone else in the room that the rest of us can’t see and it turns out that they’re talking with their parent or a sibling or a child who has died before them. The person who is dying is reassured by their presence, a comfort in the dying person’s last days, a guide for the journey. We are not often privy to these stories because people are reluctant to talk about what their dying loved one has seen. I’ll sometimes ask folks if their loved one has talked about seeing anyone who has died before them. They’ll get this stunned look on their face, surprised that I asked, and tell me about it. These experiences are cloudy reassurances that we don’t really know how to talk about because there’s no way to explain what’s happening.
The Transfiguration is a little like those bedside experiences. Moses and Elijah showing up to talk with Jesus in the dazzling light are both reassuring and terrifying because God dwelling in Jesus is simple to say but impossible to understand. It’s the holy reassurance that I find comforting in these days when rumblings abound within the Christian church internationally but also nationally in our country, both in government and behind the scenes; rumblings over issues that range from benign to deadly. How does God show God’s power? Not with “military might, political posture, or cynical campaigns.”[6] God humbles the power of the world with vulnerability and with love. God getting-ready-to-rumble is a revelation of God’s power in light and in being emptied of power on a cross and in death not having the last word. The Transfiguration is holy assurance as we hang on the precipice of Lent starting this Wednesday and as we deepen in faith of Christ and him crucified through the light of the cross.
The Transfiguration is also the holy reassurance that I find comforting in personal ways as my mother’s husband of 18 years is in a steady decline towards his last days. Maybe you’re facing a personal loss too and the world’s rumblings are like thunder in a faraway cloud. Take heart in Jesus who reveals God’s heart for the world and God’s heart for you. As Jesus was reassured and as he also reassured his disciples, may you too be reassured by the glory of the Lord who collapses time as we face the great mystery. For this and for all that God is doing, we can say, “Praise God, and amen.”
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[1] Pew Research Center: Global Christianity A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population, December 2011, p.9. www.pewforum.org/files/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf
[2] Ronald J. Allen, Professor Emeritus of Preaching, and Gospels and Letters, Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, IN. Commentary on Matthew 17:1-9 for Sunday, February 19, 2023. www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/transfiguration-of-our-lord/commentary-on-matthew-171-9-6
[3] Michael Buffer’s trademarked catchphrase announced in boxing events. https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/950586/who-is-michael-buffer-lets-get-ready-to-rumble-how-much-paid-anthony-joshua-oleksandr-usyk/
[4] Matthew 16:21 – the first time in Matthew that Jesus talks about his death and resurrection.
[5] Matthew 3:17 – Jesus’ baptism
[6] Joy J. Moore, Professor of Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Sermon Brainwave Podcast #888: Transfiguration of our Lord, for February 19, 2023. https://www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts/888-transfiguration-of-our-lord-year-a-february-19-2023